Post baby fitness

HazelBee

Having a bit of a gym/running addiction pre pregnancy I've found curbing my activity levels the hardest thing about late pregnancy and am dying to get back to it in the new year.
For those of you so inclined, how long did it take before you felt able or wanted to head out running again or back to the gym?

natty_asha

I had my son on the 5th Nov and 3 weeks later to the day I went back hockey training. Played a match 4 weeks after I had him but that was just subbing on for short bursts. Today I played a full half continuously 5 weeks after having him. I think many factors come into play when resuming normal activities. Your general fitness pre pregnancy, type of delivery, activity levels during pregnancy and of course your desire to get back to normal.

I was restricted to just walking until 32 weeks and then I had to take it easy and really do nothing apart from general housework. I think this made me more determined to get back to sport as I was so frustrated and fed up! I will say I was lucky in that I had a normal delivery and given that it was my second baby, I recovered quicker this time round.

don't think set yourself a definite return date because if things don't go to plan you could end up disappointed. Just take each day as it comes and allow yourself to recover to a point where you feel comfortable before throwing yourself back into it.

best of luck with it

lazygal

I had a postnatal consult with my consultant at 11 weeks post partum and I didn't do anything more than walking before then. I had sections though, and even though I felt 100% I wanted the medical sign off just in case. As soon as I got the all clear I resumed gym/swimming/running. It will depend on how you heal-I have friends who took months to heal because of infected stiches even though they had relatively normal births.

pwurple

It's different for every pregnancy... I had a lot of stitches on both, which restricted me a bit. Healed better after the second delivery, so was walking about reasonable distances within the week. Running took a bit longer, because I was trying to get the breastfeeding going, and my boobs were in no state for bouncing or getting a sports-bra on. I waited until the lochia had stopped as well. They say that's how you know if you are overdoing it... if the lochia going red again.

Ask you doctor though, because it all depends on your delivery.

HazelBee

Thanks everyone. Suppose it's all up in the air at this stage til we see how things go. Nice to hear others' experiences though!

Cameoette

My baby is 14 weeks now, and I'm still struggling to get back into a proper running routine BUT I was surprised and happy to find I didn't totally lose all my fitness even though I stopped running at 22 weeks. The first run/walk I did was 8 weeks post partum and bladder-wise I definitely wasn't ready- however doing pelvic floor exercises regularly has improved this tons. I had a forceps delivery plus episiotomy so I wasn't in too much of a rush to get back out there until everything was healed up. Best advice I could give you is go with how your body feels each day and don't put yourself under too much pressure. Best of luck! X

PS edited to add, I'm breastfeeding so just in case you will be- I found the only sports bra to accommodate and support the huge baps was in m&s, I got one that has a front opening zip and it meant that I didn't have to pull a tight sports bra over sore boobs. It works perfectly!

HazelBee

Cameoette wrote: »

My baby is 14 weeks now, and I'm still struggling to get back into a proper running routine BUT I was surprised and happy to find I didn't totally lose all my fitness even though I stopped running at 22 weeks. The first run/walk I did was 8 weeks post partum and bladder-wise I definitely wasn't ready- however doing pelvic floor exercises regularly has improved this tons. I had a forceps delivery plus episiotomy so I wasn't in too much of a rush to get back out there until everything was healed up. Best advice I could give you is go with how your body feels each day and don't put yourself under too much pressure. Best of luck! X

PS edited to add, I'm breastfeeding so just in case you will be- I found the only sports bra to accommodate and support the huge baps was in m&s, I got one that has a front opening zip and it meant that I didn't have to pull a tight sports bra over sore boobs. It works perfectly!

That's really useful cameottte! I had to stop running at 24 weeks and do plan on breast feeding so thank you!

73trix

HazelBee wrote: »

That's really useful cameottte! I had to stop running at 24 weeks and do plan on breast feeding so thank you!

I'm 10.5 week a after delivery.

Back brisk walking up to an hour since 8 wks. Feeling very good. Back swimming since weekend. Working on beginning a few short jogs soon. Feel ready. Had a section. Also bfing so back to pre pregnancy weight which helped overall sense of wellbeing.

good luck with your pregnancy.

mrsWhippy

Running and other high impact exercises post pregnancy can be very hard on your pelvic floor. I would definitely consider seeing a postnatal physio to give you the all clear before starting up with your training plan. If you are breastfeeding, your body will remain 'lose' with all the relaxin hormones so you will also be a lot more prone to injury.

You'll possibly have a diastasis recti too which is also going to weaken the core area, and starting running/training with this type of issue may lead to pelvic floor issues and lower back pain.

You would be MUCH better off getting professional guidance as to how to strengthen these areas and start off your running plan safely - you may do more damage than good in the long run!

Best of luck, there is nothing like getting back into the saddle to help you feel 'normal' again.

Mink

I didn't feel ready until 6 months later and even then I took it easy, built it up then from there once I was sure all my bits were staying in the right place.

As above, I would get your pelvic floor checked out / check for prolapsed uterus/bladder etc before doing anything jarring.